Kansas Funding Redux: More Money Needed— Not More Smoke and Mirrors

The NYTimesreported today that the Kansas Supreme Court has determined that the KS legislature’s latest gambit, the issuance of block grants instead of fully funding of the equalization formula, remains unconstitutional.

In a 47-page ruling, the court rejected that bill, saying the Legislature’s formula “creates intolerable, and simply unfair, wealth-based disparities among the districts.”

“This case requires us to determine whether the state has met its burden to show that recent legislation brings the state’s K-12 public school funding system into compliance with Article 6 of the Kansas Constitution,” the ruling said. “We hold it has not.”

But KS shouldn’t worry… because ESSA might provide a way for them to use federal dollars to supplant state funds and make things work out well in the end…. and if they do so I hope that the Democrats will think again about the “bi-partisan” bill they passed.